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Hundreds of women — including ethnic minorities, rights activists, garment workers, tea workers, persons with disabilities, domestic workers, and sex workers along with transgender individuals — took part in the ‘Women’s March for Solidarity’ in front of the Jatiya Sangsad building on the capital’s Manik Mia Avenue on Friday, calling for justice, dignity and gender equity.

The ‘Nareer Dake Moitree Jatra’ event in a declaration also demanded that the government must take action, especially against threats of violence targeting women and marginalised communities, rumors and disinformation surrounding the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission report, and the use of religious values as a weapon to create fear. 

The event began with the singing of the national anthem at about 3:30pm.

The women solidarity march in its declaration further demanded that any political organisation seeking support from all types of women — whether through electoral pledges or promises of reform — must clearly state their position on the rights of women, workers, and ethnic, religious, linguistic, and gender minorities, and what their stand is on these groups’ full political, economic, and personal freedom, along with at least 33 per cent of their  candidates in the upcoming elections being women (eventually according their share in the population).

They also made a call that the interim government must take immediate measures to ensure education, healthcare, and social and economic empowerment of women and marginalised communities. 

The declaration read by, one after another, Jayanti Chakma, Shamsi Ara Zaman, mother of journalist Tahir Zaman Priyo who was killed in the July-August uprising, and Sharmin Akter, the widow of Mamun Mia who also lost his life in the uprising, said, ‘Our demand is for a democratic and just Bangladesh, where the dignity and rights of all people are upheld based on the shared values of anti-discrimination and equality.’   

It is observed with great concern that even after the uprising, reactionary forces and the patriarchal social system continued to create various obstacles to the progress of women and other marginalised communities, hindering women’s ability to lead a normal life, they said.

Despite women facing physical attacks, interference in decision-making, online harassment, sudden attacks at various places, obstruction of protests, planned mob violence, moral policing, sexual harassment, rape, and gang rape, the interim government — which assumed office in August in the past year following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led fascist Awami League regime on the blood of martyrs and the sacrifices of countless women — remains ‘astonishingly silent’ on these incidents.

Referring to the recent disinformation campaign surrounding the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission report and the derogatory remarks targeting its members, they said, ‘Even after such disgraceful attacks on members of the commission — formed by the government itself — the government has taken no action in this regard.’ 

Reminding the interim government — and any future government —that the political, personal, and economic freedom of women, workers, ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities, as well as gender-diverse people, is not and cannot be conditional, they said, adding that undermining these fundamental rights will contradict decades of women’s movement and betray the aspirations and vision of justice that came from the July uprising. 

They said that they will remain steadfast in demanding their rights and will not give up on the struggle to build a just Bangladesh.

Several organisations, including Bangladesh Students’ Union, Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi, Socialist Students’ Front, Hill Women’s Federation, and Bangladesh Naree Jote, expressed solidarity with the programme.

Following the repot with 433 reform proposals submitted by the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission on April 19, two of Bangladesh’s most prominent Islamist groups expressed strong opposition to the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission, with

the Hifazat-e Islam calling for its complete abolition and the Jamaat-e-Islami rejecting the commission’s report.  

In the report, the commission proposed the introduction of equal property rights for women, a uniform family code, and a separate and permanent women affairs commission, eliminating all discriminations in the public space and family laws, increasing the total number of seats in the parliament, with half of the seats reserved for women via direct election, among others.

During a Hefazat rally at the Suhrawardy Udyan on May 3, pressing for the immediate cancellation of women affairs reform commission, several individuals, including a middle-aged man in beard and a prayer cap with two others in casual attire, hit a saree-clad effigy of a woman with shoes at the Raju Sculpture on the Dhaka University campus that sparked criticism.

However, Hefazat secretary general Sajedur Rahman in a media statement the following day claimed that his organisation was ‘not connected with the effigy’ incident.

 A cultural programme and a photo exhibition were held along with the event.

The event ended with a procession that marched towards Khamarbari, circled back to Manik Mia Avenue, and concluded there at about 6:00pm, with slogans including, ‘From the hills to the plains,

the fight will go on’, ‘No means no’ and ‘We wanted our share, but became a prostitutes.’